A demolition company has been fined after a worker fell from a mobile scaffold tower.
The incident happened at the Hillington Industrial Estate in Glasgow on 30th December 2011, when the 50-year-old worker was carrying out work from a scaffolding access platform to enable the building to be demolished by DSR Demolition.
It appears that a cable tray swung towards the man as he was cutting it from the ceiling, hitting him in the shin and knocking him off balance. He fell five feet off the platform and fractured his right elbow and left arm. He has still been unable to return to work because of the extent of his injuries.
HSE’s investigation found that he only fell because the platform was not put together correctly and was missing guard rails and toe boards. Also no suitable risk assessment was available on site for the use of the mobile scaffolding platform and it had not been inspected before use.
DSR Demolition Limited, which earlier this year featured in a BBC TV documentary series Demolition: The Wrecking Crew, was fined £5,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
HSE inspector Graham Mitchell said: “The injured person was at risk of falling because the tower was not put together properly. Work at Height Regulations require those in control of work at height to take sufficient measures to prevent injuries and this fall could have been easily prevented.”
